Unexpected
by ThePathUntaken
Summary: Truth has always been stranger than fiction. What is poor Harry to do when he meets a pretty blonde girl with no memories, a Napoleon complex, and a talent for magic that isn't really magic? Fem!Edward, No pairings yet!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One-

Truth's Request

The Gate stood menacingly over the young blonde, a faceless, white being in front of said Gate. The blonde looked at the white being, seemingly fearless. However, if one looked close enough, one could see their shoulders quaking slightly. The blonde's amber eyes burned with a courage and determination that was so intense, their quaking became less and less noticeable. The faceless figure stared back.

"I see that you've returned, little girl." The figure taunted. "I have returned your arm and leg. What more do you ask of me? Did I, perhaps, miss something, Edward, that is to say, Edwina Elric?" The girl, known as Edwina, kept her unwavering eyes on the figure. She then spoke.

"Give him back, Truth. I came for him, and with a proper sacrifice. Now, give me my baby brother back!" Truth only stared at her.

"Oh?" It stated mockingly. "Do you really have a sacrifice that will be equal enough for your brother?" She nodded once, her gaze still unwavering. She gestured to the gate behind her.

"I give up that." She declared. "I give up all of my alchemy, the ability to create, in order to restore my brother." Truth looked at Edwina curiously, as if it couldn't believe she was giving up something that had taken her all of her time and energy to master.

"Are you sure, Edwina? Are you prepared to give up everything you've worked for, just for a body?" Edwina's face shifted, her emotionless mask melting into a smile.

"Who needs Alchemy when I have the people around me?" Truth smiled. Someone had finally figured it out, have they?

"It's about time someone figured it out. But you know what? Just taking your alchemy would be boring. I think I will let you keep it." Edwina frowned.

"What do I have to do to exchange for that? I know you, Truth. You won't let this happen so easily. What do you want in exchange?" Truth's smile lessened a bit, until it looked almost sad.

"As Truth, you know that I can never lie," It explained. "There are some places out there where equivalent exchange isn't practiced. Alchemy is dead there, and all those with the talent rely on magic instead of doing things the way life intended them to do those things." Edwina nodded, signaling that she understood and for Truth to continue.

"There is a man, who can't even be called a man, who is trying to commit genocide of those without two 'Magical' parents. There is also a prophecy about a young boy who will vanquish him. In exchange for your brother's life, I will age you five years, take away most of your memories, and send you to this world to help the young boy. I will let them keep their prophecies, but I am sending you to prove that Alchemy is not a 'dead magic'. You will have a few things with you to help get your memories back, as you must do that on your own. With all this in mind, do you accept this trade?"

"Will I ever see them again?" Edwina asked. Truth knew that she was referring to her beloved little brother and all the friends she had made over the years, especially a certain man. Truth nodded.

"Once you regain all of your memories, you will see them again."

Edwina contemplated everything that she could, and gave her answer.

"For Alphonse, I accept." Truth gave her a smile that she had never seen on its face before; a kind, apologetic smile.

"I will give you a chance to say goodbye, and anything else you want to say." There was a bright flash, and Edwina and Alphonse Elric appeared just outside of the transmutation circle.

Al opened his eyes to see his sister holding him. He felt weak and heavy, and he was very hungry. He could feel Edwina's tight, warm embrace, and he lifted his hand to rest on hers as she covered his naked form. Hohenheim walked over a moment later.

"Ed, I take it that Truth took your sacrifice?" Ed looked at him, a smile on her pretty face.

"No, he didn't accept it." She said simply. Hohenheim looked at her, shocked, as did the rest of the people there. With Al in Hohenheim's arms, Ed stood and walked over to the circle. She turned to her friends and family and recounted what Truth had told her to do.

"Instead of my alchemy, Truth is going to age my by five years, considering that's how long Al was in the armor, and send me to another world to teach them alchemy. Truth is also going to take the majority of my memories. I will be able to see you only after my memories return. So, before I leave, I have a few things to say," The people around her were too shocked to say anything. She looked at her father.

"I forgive you, father." She looked to her brother.

"Al, you really are the best little brother in the world. I'm sorry for everything I put you though, and thank you for putting up with your selfish sibling." She looked to Ling, the money-mooching prince.

"You'd better pay off that bill with your own money by the time I get my memories back. I will kill you otherwise." She looked to Major Armstrong.

"Stay youthful, sir." She looked to Riza Hawkeye, the pretty, gun-happy Lieutenant Colonel.

"You always were the woman I looked up to the most." She turned to Havoc, Fury, Falman, and Breda.

"Enough with the short jokes already, dammit! I'm going to be aging three years, so I'm going to get taller. Oh, and Fury? You really are the sweetest man in the military." Fury blushed, though every one of them was confused. Edward was a boy, right? Does this mean he was… homosexual? (1) Finally, Ed turned to her superior officer, Colonel Roy Mustang. Her gaze lingered a bit before she smiled. Roy looked from side to side before realizing that her gaze was on him. He sighed.

"I know what you're going to say, Fullmetal." Ed looked slightly surprised, but happy.

"You do?" She asked, looking rather hopeful. Roy sighed.

"The answer is 'No'." Ed froze.

"I am not a homosexual, Fullmetal."

"How dare you?" Someone shouted. It wasn't Ed, though. It was sweet, mild-mannered Alphonse.

"You don't know anything, do you Colonel? Sister was hiding her gender because it was hard enough getting into the military at twelve, but if the higher ups discovered she was a girl, things would have been worse! She's always been a girl, and she's always been-"Ed held up her hand to stop her brother.

"I've always been in love with you, Colonel. Though, even if you don't feel the same way, I'm very glad I could say it before I left." She stepped into the center of the circle. The circle began to glow and Ed began to grow. She was about a foot taller, and her feminine physique was more pronounced. Her baby fat was gone. Where sixteen year old Ed Elric once stood was a beautiful young woman. The circle began to glow brighter, and Edwina began to fade. Even so, when she turned to look at them one last time, everyone could see the tears streaming down her face, and how they flowed faster when she met Roy's gaze. She turned away, but Roy didn't miss the hurt in her eyes as she turned.

And just like that, Edwina Elric was gone.

A/N: (1) For the record, they all still think that they are talking to a young man named Edward at this point, if you didn't get it.

I have a feeling that you have all noticed that I didn't make a new chapter. Honestly, I have just gotten my wisdom teeth removed on New Year's Eve, and had a few minor complications after the surgery. I have been very sick, but I've been steadily getting better and should have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I am trying my best for this story, so please think about what you want to say when you review, because I got a few reviews that kind of hurt my feelings. It was like they were insulting my intelligence and questioning my drive. I happen to like the name Edwina. It sounds sophisticated and feminine, bit with a light hint of boyish charm. And it fits, because Ed's sudden aging, combined with severe personal amnesia and culture shock, is going to be really rough on her, and she's going to mature a lot. I do hope you tolerate my lateness and continue to read this. I'll be a little rusty on the HP stuff, but I'm working on that. Thank you all for your support.

Lots of love and cookies,

TPU


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot to mention this before, but I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. If I did, we wouldn't have bills with numbers the size of centipedes. (That's actually an exaggeration, but we do get some nasty bills.)

Recap-

Okay! So what happened in the last chapter is Truth decided that since Ed was the very first person to figure out that Alchemy was the greatest sacrifice, it let Ed keep her Alchemy. In addition to that, it offered her a trade;

Aging of her body by five years

Most of her memories being taken

Being sent to another world to help a young boy with his so-called 'destiny' and

Not being able to see her loved ones until she regains her memories. She traded these conditions in order to regain Al's body. Ed was also able to say goodbye to all of her friends, and finally tell the Colonel that she loved him. Though, after being rejected because Roy thought she was a boy, Ed disappeared into the next world.

Chapter 2-

Oddities

When Ed opened her eyes, she saw a pair of old buildings. Between them were the sky and a few fluffy clouds.

"I must be in an alley…but how did I get here?" She moved to stand, but she stood to fast and the blood rushed from her head. She swayed a bit, extremely dizzy, and leaned up against a wall. She looked down at herself. She was wearing black combat boots, thigh high black stockings, a black pleated mini-skirt, a thick brown belt, a black tank top, and a bright red hooded overcoat. She grabbed her head in pain, wondering if she had hit it earlier. After her dizziness wore off, Ed straightened her coat and walked out of the alley. In front of her was something she had never seen before (Despite the obvious memory loss on her part.). The place in front of her was filled with people in robes walking around, buying and selling strange items. She was so amazed by what she saw, that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and bumped into a fairly thin, bespectacled youth with dark hair and green eyes. She fell backwards from the aftershock of the impact and landed on her bottom. She looked up at the boy. He was truly thin, possibly even emaciated, almost like he hadn't eaten in weeks. When he spoke, he certainly sounded apologetic. Ed could only stare at the boy, her eyebrows furrowed and a small pout on her pink lips. It threw her. Not that the boy was apparently apologizing, she could understand that from the tone of his voice.

What threw her was that she couldn't understand a thing he said.

Harry's POV, Third Person

Harry Potter's life had just recently taken a turn for the better. He found out that he was a wizard, and that he didn't have to live with those dreaded Dursleys' for nine whole months! He was so happy when Hagrid, the friendly giant man, came to pick him up on his birthday. When he got to Diagon Alley, he was amazed at all the wonders his magical heritage had to bring. Then he found out that he vanquished an evil wizard when he was just a baby. Everyone who knew his name praised him like a hero! He and Hagrid were just about to get Harry's wand, when Harry bumped into a very pretty blond woman.

"I'm sorry, miss. Are you alright?" Harry asked her sincerely. The girl looked at him, appearing rather confused. She cocked her head to the side, like a puppy would after hearing an unfamiliar noise. Her light, golden eyebrows were furrowed, and she had a pout on her full, pink lips. Her golden brown eyes stared straight at him, as if studying him. The girl made a sudden movement, startling Harry. She raised her hand. Harry flinched, wondering where Hagrid was and if this girl was going to hit him. But she didn't hit him. She just scratched her head. Harry looked at her a bit more closely. It suddenly dawned on him.

"Do you understand anything I'm saying?" The girl shrugged. Okay, time to wait for Hagrid. Still, Harry decided to introduce himself, so the strange girl knew what to call him. He pointed to himself.

"Harry Potter," He said. Oddly enough, he noticed, the girl hadn't taken her eyes off of him. She pointed to him.

"Harry Potter?" Harry nodded, indicating she got it right. The girl pointed to herself.

"Edwina Elric," The girl said. Okay, they were getting somewhere. At that moment, (And not a moment too soon, in Harry's opinion,) Hagrid finally caught up to Harry.

"'Ey there, 'Arry! Sorry 'bout tha'. Those shady people 'round here don' seem to understan' th' meanin' o' 'No'." Hagrid said, referring to the people trying to sell illegal or broken merchandise to get a quick galleon. Hagrid looked over to the girl with his charge. ((AN- Harry had helped her back onto her feet by now.)) Her golden locks shone like they were born from the sun, and her smoldering golden eyes seemed to delve deep into his soul. She was very, very beautiful. Before he said anything, though, Harry got the girl's attention, pointed to Hagrid.

"Hagrid," Harry said to the girl. Hagrid was a little more than confused. He was even more confused when the girl did the same thing.

"Hagrid?" When Harry nodded, she looked at Hagrid, directly in the eye.

"Edwina Elric," she said, pointing to herself. Harry looked at Hagrid.

"I don't think she understands anything I say. Do you know any translation spells, or anything? Maybe she's lost." Harry said, clearly concerned for the young woman.

"Sorry, 'Arry. 'm not very good a' translation spells. Maybe th' feller at Oliviander's can help us. Take 'er hand, 'Arry, an' let's go git yer wand."

The trio walked down Diagon Alley, Harry holding Edwina's hand so she wouldn't get lost, until they reached a shop called Oliviander's. The strange girl- Edwina, Harry reminded himself- looked at the sign curiously. She began trying to test out the word.

"Olive… Oliver… Olivia…?" Her face scrunched up in concentration, looking to Harry for help after a few tries. Harry smiled kindly at her and showed her how to pronounce it.

"Oh-live-ee-AND-derz," he said slowly, exaggerating his lip movements. Slight recognition appeared in Edwina's pretty golden eyes. She repeated the word just as Harry had said it. When he nodded, she smiled. All Harry could do was stare.

Edwina had a beautiful smile. Her entire face seemed to light up, and her eyes twinkled with happiness. Harry blinked when he felt a hand waving in front of his face. He shook his head and refocused to see Edwina with her hand up, looking concerned.

"Harry?" She said, his name rolling off her tongue in that strange- but very attractive- accent. She was the one waving her hand in his face. Harry grinned at her sheepishly.

"Sorry," Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. Edwina smiled, relieved that he was okay. For the short time she knew him, she had grown rather attached to this Harry Potter. She liked the feeling of his presence. She felt safe with him. The feeling was mutual with Harry. It wasn't just because she was attractive. The way she held his hand when they walked reminded him of when he saw mothers and their children walking around in the neighborhood he lived in. Her grip was firm, but gentle. She was like an older sister, or a mother.

The two stepped into the shop, coughing at the amount of dust in the air. A scraggly-looking man with shockingly white hair popped up from behind the counter, scaring Harry and Edwina. In a fit of instinct, Edwina put herself in front of Harry, shielding him with her body as her arms his thin, emaciated frame.

'Is she trying to protect me?' Harry thought, not used to having anyone do such a thing for him. Harry was about to tell her that it was okay when Edwina suddenly got into a fighting stance. She was about to throw her fist when Harry gently grabbed her by the arm. She turned to look at him, and he saw the panic in her eyes. Harry, knowing she was just scared, began to rub Edwina's arm comfortingly.

"It's alright, Edwina. He's a friend." Harry said in a calming voice.

Edwina relaxed from her stance, and the other occupants of the room released breaths they didn't even know they were holding. Hagrid stepped forward to talk to Oliviander.

"Mr. Oliviander, afore we start lookin' fer 'Arry's wand, do yeh know any translation spells? This 'ere young lady bumped inta 'Arry in the street, and she seems ta 'ave no idea where she is. An' we can' ask 'er 'cause we can' understand 'er. Do ya know any?" Oliviander just shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I do not know any translation spells. Perhaps Dumbledore can help you. But right now, let us find Mr. Potter a wand, shall we?"

After about ten wands, a few hundred galleons in broken goods, and one very freaked out Edwina later, (Harry could have sworn he saw a blue light glowing behind her at some point) Harry was finally able to purchase his wand. Hagrid had left some time ago, and had come back with a beautiful snowy owl as Harry's birthday present, which Harry had promptly name Hedwig. Edwina kept her hand in Harry's, as if she was afraid that he was going to leave her behind. When they got to the train station, Hagrid handed Harry his ticket.

"You have a safe trip home, 'kay? I'll come pick you up in September to take you to the station." Harry waved goodbye to his new friends and got onto the train. Edwina ran after him.

ED'S POV, THIRD PERSON

She had no idea where Harry was going. The language barrier was beginning to become a serious issue. It didn't matter. Harry was going somewhere without her, and she didn't want him to go. She wasn't sure about the big, burly man they had been walking with (Hagrid, if she remembered correctly.). It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she just trusted Harry more. So, she did what she felt like she had to do.

She got on the train, too.

HARRY'S POV, THIRD PERSON

Harry heard Hagrid yell something, but he wasn't sure what it was until he sat down in one of the train's compartments. When he sat down and looked up, he saw Edwina sitting right across from him. Harry didn't get it. Why was she coming with him? She couldn't come with him! The Dursleys would never allow a strange girl with no knowledge of English into their home. They couldn't stand Harry being in their home as it was. Harry was about to tell her this when the train began to move. It was too late. Unless she jumped, she wouldn't be able to get off. Than it occurred to him; did Edwina even have a ticket?

How were they going to get out of this?

"Edwina," Harry said, "Do you have a ticket?" Edwina, who had been staring at Harry the entire time, blinked once and cocked her head innocently.

"Have a Ticket?" She asked, her lilting accent echoing through the small compartment. Harry pulled out his ticket to show her.

"One of these?" Edwina took the paper ticket from Harry and studied it for a moment. She then looked around for something. She pointed to something under Harry's seat.

"Dat. Dat please," she said in broken English. Harry looked under his seat and saw a few pieces of paper and a pen. He handed them to her as she handed his ticket back to him. Edwina took the ink out of the pen and poured it onto the paper. She then clapped her hands, and Harry saw the same blue glow from before as the ink and paper shifted. Harry stared in awe as the glow died down. In place of the inky paper was an authentic train ticket. He pointed to the ticket.

"What was that? Was it magic?" Before Edwina could answer, the compartment door opened to reveal the conductor.

"Tickets, please." Edwina handed the conductor her handmade ticket with a smile. The conductor looked at it, clipped it, dipped his hat to her, and moved on to Harry's ticket. When he was finished, he closed the compartment door with the standard, 'Enjoy your trip' speech. Harry turned back to Edwina, but before he opened his mouth, she spoke.

"Alkhemie," she said. Harry repeated the word to himself, as the word seemed unfamiliar with Edwina's lilting accent. His eyes widened as he realized what she said.

"Oh, you said alchemy! I wonder what that is… That's not the point! The point is, even though you managed to get a ticket, you can't stay with me. I don't have any place for you to stay…" He trailed off at the look on Edwina's face. She seemed a little dazed. This language barrier was getting to be extremely annoying…

The train stopped at the Surrey train station, and Harry made his way back to Privet Drive, Edwina trailing behind him like a baby duckling, helping the boy carry his school equipment. Harry knew he had to try one more time to get Edwina to leave before his Uncle Vernon got to her. Poor Edwina would be very upset if the walrus-like man yelled at her. Harry had seen in Diagon Alley that she didn't like too much noise. Once they got to the door, Harry put down his load, Edwina following suite. Harry turned to her and pointed in a random direction.

"Thank you so much for all your help, but you have to go now. We'll see each other again soon, I promise." Edwina looked at him, seemingly knowing what he was saying. She was about to turn away when the door opened.

Uncle Vernon stood at the threshold.

He looked at Harry with contempt. He was about to yell at him when he saw the blonde young woman with his freak of a nephew. Vernon's face began to turn purple.

"I thought I told you to keep all your freaky friends away from here! Now you bring some witch whore to my house?!" He turned to Edwina as Harry shouted for her to run. Edwina's protective instincts kicked in, and she clapped, pulling out a metal pole.

'Where did she get that?' Harry thought. 'And where did she pull it out from?' Indeed, she was wearing a long red coat with a strange symbol on the back, but the rest of her attire was either short or skin tight.

Edwina jumped backward as she touched the pole. With the same glowing blue light as before, Alchemy, Harry reminded himself, the metal pole grew in length. She pointed the pole at the fat man with no neck.

"Harry is good boy. You not hurt Harry. Or else, pain to you, lots." Edwina's broken English seemed a little less broken. Vernon had a suspicious dark spot in the front of his pants. Edwina shrunk the pole and walked over to Harry.

"Harry is good boy. Ed will find dry in park. Ed sees Harry soon, yes?" With that, Ed leaned down and kissed Harry's forehead and walked off.

Harry stood, dazed from the kiss. He hadn't had a kiss like that since… probably before he could remember. He heard his Aunt Petunia running to see what the commotion was about, so he picked up his things and ran to the cupboard.

After he had fixed dinner for the Dursleys (Though everyone knows that they need a little less feeding), Harry, with a small container of still-hot leftovers and one of his few thick blankets, made his way over to the park. He saw Edwina's bright red coat and made his way over.

"Edwina, I brought you some food." Edwina looked up at him as he handed her the container. She accepted it gratefully. Edwina patted the empty space on the bench she was sitting on, gesturing for Harry to sit. He did just that.

"Edwina, earlier you didn't speak out language. How do you know some of it now?" He asked her. He was rather curious of this strange, exotic beauty. Her answer to his question, though, was very simple.

"Is simple; Ed listens closely."

"You just listen? That's all you do?" Edwina nodded. The two sat in silence.

"Ed," She said after a moment. Harry looked at her, confused.

"For you, not Edwina. It is Ed, for you. Harry, what you think of alchemy?"

"You mean that thing you did with the ticket? It was pretty cool."

"If Harry wants to learn, Ed will teach Harry Alchemy when she has chance." Harry beamed.

"I'd like that, Ed. I really would like that."

The two of them talked for a while longer, before Ed shooed Harry back home to get some sleep. The next day, the Dursleys moved Harry's room to Dudley's second bedroom, possibly out of fear of the blonde bombshell from the night before. When Harry went back to the park to see her, he couldn't find her anywhere. He sat on the bench that the two shared the night before, and saw a piece of paper. He picked it up and opened it.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry I'm not here, but I was picked up by your giant friend and the headmaster of the school that you are going to. The headmaster gave me a translation spell, and it seems it also had to do with written languages as well. I will be at Hogwarts, too. Dumbledore is letting me stay there for the time being. I can't wait to see you again. I'll teach you alchemy, but first you must answer this riddle by the time we see each other again._

_One is all, All is one._

_See you soon,_

_Your Surrogate Big Sister,_

_Ed_

I know that she's totally OOC, but think of it this way; Ed lost all her memories except for her name and knowledge of Alchemy. I read up on Amnesia, and it is very common for a person to be completely different from their original personality. She may slowly go back to normal, I don't know at this point. She never really acted like herself, anyway. She acted like 'himself' to protect herself from older male military officers. You know how that is.

Also, Ed's English is coming together a bit because, let's face it. She is a genius. What she was doing was looking at the people saying certain words.


End file.
